Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on badger culling to date; and what estimate she has made of spending on badger culling in the financial years (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20.

    George Eustice

    Bovine TB is the greatest animal health threat to the UK. Based on current expenditure it will cost the taxpayer £1 billion over the next decade if we do not take rigorous action now. The Government is delivering a comprehensive strategy to eradicate the disease and protect the future of our dairy and beef industries. This includes strengthening cattle testing and movement controls, improving biosecurity, and badger control in areas where TB is rife.

    To date, Defra has spent the following on badger control for the purposes of eradicating bovine TB:

    2012/2013 – £2.5m

    2013/2014 – £6.3m plus an additional £3.5m on policing costs

    2014/2015 – £3.1m plus an additional £1.4m on policing costs

    Costs for 2015/2016 are currently being finalised and will be published in due course.

    Planning is underway for future years, but we expect the costs to government per area to decrease in line with the estimates contained in Table 4 of the Badger Control Policy: Value For Money Analysis published in December 2015:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-badger-control-policy-value-for-money-analysis.

    “

  • Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representative bodies (a) his Department and (b) the Gambling Commission has met to discuss the next review of gaming machines stakes and prizes.

    David Evennett

    My officials and staff in the Gambling Commission meet a range of stakeholders and representative bodies at regular intervals to discuss gambling policy and regulation. Information on Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are included in the quarterly transparency returns.

    The Government published its evaluation of the £50 regulations introduced in April 2015 on 21 January. The evaluation paper can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-gaming-machine-circumstances-of-useamendment-regulations-2015

    We will now consider the findings of the evaluation before deciding if there is a need for further action.

    “

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many places of worship have received financial support from his Department for essential roof repairs since 2015.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Listed places of worship represent some of the nation’s finest heritage. Since 2015 DCMS has provided £30m of financial support to 502 places of worship across the UK for essential roof repairs. Applications opened for a further funding round of £25m in December 2015. Successful applicants will be announced in due course.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many (a) mortgages, (b) leaseholds and (c) properties overall are registered with the Land Registry in (i) Hampstead and Kilburn constituency and (ii) London.

    Anna Soubry

    The information will take time to collate. I will place this in the Libraries of the House as soon as the information is available.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with which individuals and organisations his Department is consulting to inform the life chances strategy.

    Priti Patel

    As is customary in the development of any Strategy, we have engaged in discussions with a range of organisations and individual experts as we develop the Life Chances Strategy.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to promote the Fast Track Giant Cell Arteritis pathway piloted by Southend University Hospital.

    David Mowat

    Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for the provision of services for people with giant cell arteritis (GCA). Whilst it would not be appropriate for NHS England to direct CCGs to adopt a particular clinical pathway, it continues to ensure that the innovative approach developed at Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (FT) is shared and made available to clinicians.

    There are a number of clinical guidelines that are available to support the prompt diagnosis and referral of patients with suspected GCA, including one produced by the Royal College of Physicians, which Professor Bhaskar Dasgupta, who developed the GCA pathway at Southend University Hospital NHS FT, helped to produce. This guidance provides a framework for disease assessment, immediate treatment and referral to specialist care. Furthermore, both the British Society for Rheumatology and the British Health Professionals in Rheumatology published guidelines on the management of polymyalgia rheumatica, a related condition, for general practitioners and rheumatologists. These encourage the prompt diagnosis and urgent management of GCA, helping to minimise GCA related vision loss.

    The Specialised Rheumatology Clinical Reference Group at NHS England has developed proposals to establish local rheumatology networks. These are being implemented over a three year period to support consistent access to clinically effective therapies and to share good and innovative practice across the country. In addition, NHS England’s innovation team has invited Professor Dasgupta to contribute to the NHS Innovation Exchange Portal to ensure that this knowledge is shared.

    On 24 June 2016, NHS England recently facilitated a webinar presented by Professor Dasgupta, which aimed to show how the fast-track pathway has significantly reduced the number of patients suffering sight-loss as an avoidable complication of GCA and, in addition, presents a case that this model is cost-saving, results in an increased patient quality of life, and successfully reduces the time to diagnosis in line with established clinical guidelines. NHS England promoted the webinar across the musculoskeletal community as well as to CCGs and patient groups through a wide range of communications channels.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to address the humanitarian situation in (a) Haiti, (b) Jamaica, (c) Cuba and (d) the Bahamas caused by hurricane Matthew.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK is committing up to £5 million of initial support to trusted UN, Red Cross and NGO partners to help thousands of people in Haiti affected by Hurricane Matthew. DFID prepositioned aid in Haiti to better prepare the country for natural disasters, and has a team in Haiti working with international partners and the Government of Haiti to address the humanitarian situation.

    In Jamaica, no significant humanitarian need has been identified. In respect of Cuba, the Department is working closely with the International Federation of the Red Cross to ascertain their understanding of needs and potential response plans.

    The Ministry of Defence and Foreign and Commonwealth Office deployed the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary Vessel Wave Knight to the Bahamas to provide aerial reconnaissance and support in the immediate aftermath of Matthew’s impact. The Department for International Development is working with the British Red Cross to deepen our understanding of the humanitarian situation in the Bahamas.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the vulnerability of the UK’s critical infrastructure from cyber attack; and what investment his Department is making to improve the security of the UK’s critical infrastructure from such attacks.

    Matthew Hancock

    For security reasons we do not comment on details of our vulnerability to cyber attacks. The Government takes cyber security very seriously; since 2011 we have invested £860 million in a National Cyber Security Programme. As announced in the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we plan to almost double investment in cyber security to £1.9bn over the next five years, which includes further investment in protecting the UK’s critical national infrastructure.

  • Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any instructions have been issued to passport offices not to prioritise cases raised by a hon. Member to prevent queue-jumping.

    James Brokenshire

    No instructions have been issued to passport offices on the issue of prioritising cases raised by Hon. Members.

  • Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of recent trends in the relative size of the Shia population in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not carried out an assessment on this. We refer to various published sources, including those from the Government of Bahrain and international organisations such as the United Nations and World Bank.